This study focuses on contemporary issues of educational financing in developing countries and on available research findings as these relate, or can be related, to these issues. The first two chapters are analytical, examining common educational finance issues and testing the conventional wisdom of certain usual proposals. Chapter 1, "Issues in Educational Financing," gives an overview of the explosive demand for education in developing countries, the growing concern for performance, the growth of government activity in education, and the use of financial mechanisms as policy instruments. Chapter 2 analyzes how reality impinges on proposals such as equalization through taxes, free education benefits for the poor (or rich), and financing for efficiency, equity, or diversity. The remaining three chapters summarize available research findings on educational financing to determine existing gaps. Chapter 3, "Identifying Available Research," provides operational definitions of key terms (education, research, and financing) and describes the study design for identifying references in developed and developing countries. Chapter 4, "Lessons from the Study Design," assesses data derived from the search process and summarizes research trends in educational financing. Chapter 5, "Lessons from the Research Results," relates findings to each component of the educational system and identifies research aimed at detection (assessment of the current state of affairs in some evaluative sense) or analysis (why current performance is or is not adequate). Chapter 6 identifies research gaps and suggests alternative ways to gather and classify resources. The complete bibliography follows, along with a statistical appendix. (TE)